ArtnLight

One thing that became clear with the Kalaghoda exhibition was the list of products that people wanted from me - which I wasn't making. So the better part of this year has gone towards working on those missing products. One of them was Table Mats. So here they are, Artnlight Table Mats- in your favourite designs. So go right ahead - add a pop of artnlight colour to your dining tables.

The great part about this is they are very easy to use. Just wipe clean - 1st with a damp and then a dry cloth & they will remain as good as new for however long. They are also easily stackable, storable - when you want to use your other Table mat sets.

There is a mix of the most favourite and running designs + a few completely new ones. These have already had a great response at the exhibitions I have been part of. So happy to finally make it available on www.artnlight.in.

Completely excited about this set of 6 different Vintage Postcard inspired Table Mat Series, with my favourite botanical illustrations and with one food quote each.

Had to share this with all of you. Many of you must be familiar with the visually stunning blog & magazine called Once Upon a Tea Time...Design Stories. For years now we have all enjoyed the steady stream of eyecandy that Priya Iyer serves up in this space.

Last week I got interviewed on skye, so yes its an audio interview and you will actually hear my voice. In this whole business of being an entrepreneur, you are so busy doing what needs to be done, that there is not much time to reflect on it, on your journey, and how far you have come. I am very grateful to Priya Iyer for making me stop and asking me those questions that are so pertinent.

It is 37 minutes long, so like Priya says, sit with a cup of tea & biscuits.

What was so amazing was speaking to the creator of Once Upon A Tea Time Design Stories, exchanging our experiences of blogging and getting to know her a bit more. Speaking and connecting real time on skype - desite the different time zones, gives us such a beautiful sense of the person. I loved meeting and speaking to Priya.

You can listen to the interview here:

While on the subject of entrepreneurship, I've got to be honest and say that the one feeling that has been consistent is that I wish I had known that I will always have to be ready to see myself as more that what I am - You need to be armed with an "I am enough" attitude. Because more often than not what stops you or scares you is going out of your boundaries of who you think you are and who you think you are not. Eg: "I am a creative person and I'm not good with finance". If something like this is strongly engraved in your mind it just wont serve you. "I don't know packaging, logistics/ adminitration is not for me." All of these are just labels and notions you have made of yourself. As the owner of your brand all of this is your business. The point is not to scare off the creative people reading this post. The point is that I have had all the above notions and they didn't help me. The point is I have made my peace with this very necessary aspect of being on your own. To take complete accountability of what I do, whether financial, administrative, marketing or creating products or packing and shipping it out well and on time, with all of this, the buck does stop at me. And if i say I have a business and that is Artnlight - then all of this is very much my business. The sooner I accept this, the sooner I can begin to start bringing in my care and love to that aspect. Without which the business will just not be whole. I'm still on this, reminding myself everyday that all of this needs my impartial attention and care. Those of you who run their own businesses probably resonate with it & it will be wonderful to hear from you your take on this and your experience of how you deal with this. Looking forward to hearing from you.

I was browsing Pinterest - the creative worlds new inspiration black book - to see if there is something inspirational that I can post on the Artnlight Fb page. A quote that speaks to me. something that will give someone a push or a quiet hand - or just an insight - when I saw this - wham!

I read this & saw how beautifully it is done & it took me right back to when I started art college and when I started my 1st years in advertising as a visualiser. I felt everyone around me was way more talented than me as far as art was concerned.

Words came to me easier than art did. The moment I got a brief I thought of words and lines and ideas 1st. And here I was hired and paid to do the visual thinking. I felt like a complete fraud. I tried and tried and I kept seeing artists work & working harder at honing what I had chosen as my vocation. When I look back the initial years still feel like a mass of yearning and yearning and struggling to do something that I wasn't naturally great at - good or decent maybe - but certainly not awesome. It was not an easy spot to be in - to not be at peace with the quality of your work.

Sometimes I feel as a creative person, the goal post keeps shifting & that's the way your work grows. You keep seeing work that inspires you to push yourself harder and that is the cycle.

So this is what I want to tell everyone out there who is working on getting better. Do yourself a favour. Stop judging yourself & instead do more work. Just keep creating. You need not share it with people if you are uncomfortable. But don't stop creating.

Creative people are naturally very sensitive. Don't let your sensitivity become fear, don't let it stop you from creating. So yes, you feel your work has a long way to go? That's perfectly ok. We are not all born brilliant. Can you grow talent? Yes. Keep walking the path and keep creating. Set yourself deadlines to complete things. Say one new artwork a week. One article a day. One complete painting in 2 weeks.

That is the ONLY way to get better. To work and to complete. Repeat.

And for all the people who are curious about the beautiful typography in this post - it is created by

Casey Ligon. And guess what, there are videos that show us how she creates her gorgeous hand-drawn typography - right here.

About Me

I'm an ex-advertising art director, who stumbled into the world of design blogging not knowing that it would change my life. I am now an independent design consultant with a growing decor accessories business.